Getting Solar power

If anyone has had any experiences with Modern doing a fit-out of solar panels, I'd love to get your feedback.

Just got a quote (6 panels bringing in 990w) and appeared pricey... but what do I know?

Trying to get in before the rebate drops out.

What was the price Knuckle ?

For a 990w, 6 panel system fitted with an inverter (that could support 12 panels) they are asking approx $18,000 with about $10,000 to find after the rebate.

Like the idea that the company has been around for a long time and may be around to support the 25year warranty, but what about factory warranties, are they wort anything?

Is this modern as in the "Modern" group of companies....shutters, blinds, alarms, etc.....I have no direct experience but I thought they didn't have a very good reputation as a company...you pay your deposit and then the relationship becomes crappy....could I suggest changing the title to indicate its from the Modern "group".

I'm not trying to cause undue worry....just worth canvassing opinions that others may have add with other Modern products...which may reflect on the solar side....

$18,000 for 990W is far too much. You should be able to get it for $12,500.

These figures are before the rebate.

Sounds much better Casa2!!

Where? And what do I look for in a company?

Modern are very expensive with there products - our neighbour had them in to quote repainting his roof - they were 50% more than the others.

Stone the maggots

Casa's price is closer to the mark for a 1kva installed and ready to use with a feedback meter.

$18k - they are having a lend of you. Do it post build.
Steve

Cheers Yak Chat,

Defiantely post-build... the house has was built in 1981!!


Good points everyone, but can I get a suggestion an altenative company that you can recommended?

We live in Brisbane.

Still looking for a company knuckle?

Steve

Solar? Rebate? My ears are burning

We are getting solar hot water system installed by our builder PD - are we still able to get a rebate?

I think not.
But worth emailing tghem just in case

http://www.resourcesmart.vic.gov.au/for_households/rebates_3041.html

Will give it a go

Yep still hunting around.

Have got a guy from 'Sola Gift' delivering a quote tommorrow. They were refered to me by a firm in Melbourne that a mate is using to install a 4KW system.

Had less of the sales spin and more of the facts which I always appreciate.

I'll let you know how we go, but if anyone has other suggestions, please let me know.

Luke

Have a chat to the guys at "energy matters" - nice team to deal with IMO.

steve

Sola Gift came back with what we wanted and the fit-out will occur later this month...hopefully.

With the rebate, for a 1KW system and an invertor to support a 2KW system, we will be out of pocket by about $4500.

The 2KW inverter is if we find some money in a couple of years and decide to get another 6 panels.

The panels are from Schott so thankfully we're not supporting BP, Shell etc. because hey, they help put us in this mess!!

1KW will supply about 25% of our power needs.

knuckles, approximately how much is your power bill normally? How many people in your family? We are looking into solar power, but thought it was right out of our price range, but the more I look into it seems it mightn't be.

We thought we might also get a smaller amount of panels to start with and then add on in years to come.

So I was wondering what is your total power usage if 1kw system will supply 25% of your power.

C & D, although we have signed-up, I'm not expecting that it is going to make to much impact on our power bill. It would of been nice, but wasn't our primary motivation.

Getting less panels isn't really an option. I'm pretty sure the min is 6 panel which equates to 990w - 1.2KW depending on what type you get.

We have a family of 2 adults and 2 kids under 4. Our situation may be different to yours as my girlfriend and kids are home all day using power. So we won't see too much return from selling back to the grid until the kids are at school and the 'missus' finds a new gig.

You need to have a family income of less than $100K to get the rebate and we found that the time was right, with the potential obligations of the Kyoto Protocol being handed down to the house-holder? We're starting with the min with a vision to get more in the future. We are limited though by our roof space to support much more than a 2KW system.

At work presently so haven't got bills to tell usage and cost but I hope this helps regardless.

hi knuckle,

have you been given any info on the maintenance of PV panels. When i mention getting panels alot of people have said that the maintenance is high and you need to replace them quite often, generally making them uneconomical - i'm hoping this isn't the case. does the 25 year guarentee cover this?

and when you say they are stopping the rebate, are you refering to the 100k limit on this or are there more dastardly plans in the pipline to stop rebates altogether?

G

That's not what I've heard. I went to a seminar on PV, organised by the Piney Likes (non-governmental, non-industry, pro environment) organisation. I specifically asked about maintenance. According to them the only maintenance needed is wiping occasionally the panels to keep them clean. I'm pretty sure that the 25 years warranty applies to the panels.

Chris